Hair Primer is the Beauty Step You're Missing

Sometimes we feel like we couldn’t possibly add one more step to our morning routines. Between the showering, the shaving, the blow drying and the moisturizing, we’re totally exhausted by the time we step out the door to start our day — and that doesn’t even factor in the fatiguing task of picking out our outfit.

But as jam-packed as your mornings are, you need to make room in the AM lineup for one more important step: priming your hair.

If you don’t use a hair primer yet, you’re missing out on some pretty incredible sprays and creams that have the ability to completely enhance and enrich your locks. No matter what your hair woes are – dry, brittle, frizzy or faded strands – there are hair primers of all kinds to remedy your every hair need.

What exactly does a hair primer do?In the same way makeup primers help prep the surface to receive and hold your makeup, hair primers are designed to create an even base surface and help your styles last longer. Most importantly, they help to foster a weightless shield that protects against humidity, which is the number one culprit for making heat-styled hair go limp and flat. Hair primers also defend against environmental factors we can't control like dirt and dust in the air, as well as oils from your scalp, ultimately helping hair stay cleaner longer.

Additionally, hair primers help to defend hair against the everyday stressors our locks are subjected to - like blow dryers and curling irons – all the while conditioning, moisturizing and giving it extra shine and smoothness. Some primers even serve as a detangler for knotted hair, and some eradicate dullness and color fading. In other words, hair primers are all-stars at making your hair look amazingly healthy.

How do you use it?After shampooing and conditioning, squeeze a dime sized amount into your hands. While hair is still damp, run your hands through your hair, making sure to get the ends thoroughly. You can either stop there, blow drying your hair as you usually would, or use in conjunction with your regular styling agents. And speaking of blow drying, most primers make the time-consuming task much less of a hassle by streamlining the entire process and helping the bristles of your brush easily glide through your hair while drying. And there’s no such thing as over-doing it; stylists recommend using hair primers every single time you wash and style your hair.

Do I really need it?Do you regularly use heat to style your hair? Then the answer is yes, you should incorporate a great primer into your morning routine as it saves your hair from excessive washing and the damaging effects of heat styling. Also, it will help your style last for days - and not just hours - meaning you can wash and style less.

Do you usually let your hair air dry? If you're more of a wash-and-go type of girl, then you probably don't need a primer, as it won't make a difference in your hair style or longevity. To combat against the flatness that sometimes goes hand in hand with air drying and to amp up the volume, make sure to use a super lightweight conditioner or a styling product without silicones.

Hayley Simmons is a twenty-something writer, wife and new mama to her baby girl, Scout. A native Texan turned Nashvillian, she spends her time experimenting with healthy recipes -- then forcing her husband to eat them, finding new ways to not hate the gym and shopping for (an absurd amount of) baby clothes.

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